For those who do not know, Google Glass can basically do everything a smartphone can do except without the inconvenience of having to dig around a bag or pocket to get it out. This project is the brainchild of Sergei Brin and Google’s X-Labs and this group have been working on it for a couple of years now. This project is finally at the point where people are testing them out in the open and it has the ability to change the future of personal computing for the better. Because these glasses can work like a smartphone+augmented reality viewer it makes them extremely convenient and easy to use while they rest on your eyes. They also have many possible uses from personal computing devices to a heads-up display for police or military function to being utilized by construction workers and engineers to do live CAD drawing and mock ups. The opportunities are endless but up until now the question has been how do I input information? With Google’s new patent filing they propose a laser projected keyboard that can be used right off your hand!
I believe, in the future, that everyone will be wearing computing devices on our bodies, but like I said the main challenge is going to be input. But, with Google’s idea to utilize a projected laser keyboard, it could make that worry a thing of the past. The struggle for using wearable devices is that the battery life, input methods, tracking methods and connectivity may be strained due to size and weight constraints since the idea is to make the device less intrusive and more readily available for quick use applications. To use something like a projected laser keyboard might be a great idea, but Google must weigh the pros and cons because it would have to be a light and small module that can fit on the frame of the Google Glasses and still keep their sleek appearance. If Google can pull that off then they may have something even more revolutionary than ever before and if they are successful, instead of having to carry a keyboard or other input technology, we could just project it onto a surface. With these new devices, like laser projected keyboards and augmented reality glasses the future is looking very interesting for mobile computing.
http://youtu.be/D7TB8b2t3QE